Waukegan mission will stay for now

December 02, 2006|By Deborah Horan, Tribune staff reporter

Betting that rising rents will one day force a storefront mission to move, the City of Waukegan has agreed to allow the mission that feeds the homeless to stay in the heart of the city center, where officials hope to attract upscale shops and eateries, lawyers involved in the case said Friday.

God's Hand Extended Mercy Mission will continue to serve daily hot lunches and Sunday sermons at 106 S. Genessee St., according to an order issued Thursday by U.S. District Court Judge Blanche M. Manning that makes an out-of-court settlement official.

"I'm glad God answered my prayers because I don't have anywhere to go," said the mission's founder, Sister Callie Dupree, when asked about the settlement. "I'm just going to continue doing the same thing I've been doing, helping those in need, the homeless and the down-and-outers as I have done for the last 20 years."

In June, the city issued Dupree an eviction notice ordering her to leave Genessee Street by July 21, saying her operation violated city zoning laws. Dupree responded by suing the city, alleging that zoning codes violate federal law because they allow secular meeting halls to exist in commercial zones but bar religious ones.

She suspected the city wanted her out because her storefront church, which attracts people looking for a hot meal, was out-of-place with the city's plans to populate the town center with ritzy restaurants, condos and boutiques. Several shop owners complained about her clientele.

On Friday, Dupree said she has no plans to move to a new location. But in September, Jeff Schwab, one of her lawyers, said he expected the city to allow the mission to stay with the understanding that the landlord was unlikely to renew the lease.

Bill Anderson, an attorney for the city, hinted Friday that the city hoped market forces would compel Dupree to find new accommodations as rents increased in response to the new construction.

"The area is becoming upscale," said Anderson. "Condos are going in down the road, so we expect the rents to go up substantially.